


the most wonderful time of the year

by xslytherclawx



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Background Het, Background Relationships, Background Slash, Family Fluff, Gen, Minor Character(s), POV Alternating, Renaissance Faires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:54:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26240698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: Going to the Faire is a family tradition – especially when they go all out on the first weekend.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Lucy Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Susan Pevensie, Jill Pole/Eustace Scrubb
Comments: 12
Kudos: 28
Collections: Narnia Fic Exchange 2020, xslytherclawx’s events collection





	the most wonderful time of the year

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WingedFlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedFlight/gifts).



> I hope you enjoy this, WingedFlight!  
> The only note I think I'd preface this with is that I put everyone's ages between 23-29 accordingly, and that all characters mentioned are canonical, even if they aren't mentioned by name.

It’s a tradition. Every weekend, during every summer, the Pevensies pile into Peter’s SUV and make the half hour trip. Peter doesn’t drive every weekend, of course; sometimes Susan or Edmund or Lucy do. Once, a few years ago, Eustace borrowed his mother’s minivan and drove them.

By this point, they know all of the staff by name. You could say they grew up there. They have season passes, and costumes, and everything. By now, they’re all even old enough to enjoy a flagon of mead with their meal.

This particular day is special because it is the very first day of the season. They agree it’s just easier to meet up at Peter’s house, which is pretty centrally located (it’s only in the other direction for Lucy, who’s too eager to show everyone her new gown to mind terribly).

The thing about the Pevensies (and Eustace and Jill, too) is that they take this very seriously. Sure, they’ve had to skip a few trips here and there – Susan went to university across the country, so that interfered a bit, and once he started working, Peter’s had a couple of weekends where he couldn’t get away, and occasionally Edmund has a conference over the summer – but most weekends in the summer it’s the same.

Today, everyone is there. 

Lucy helps Susan with her hair, to ensure it’s perfect and period. This weekend, Jill has opted for a simple single braid, period and no-nonsense. It might be understated, but Eustace can’t take his eyes off of her (even though, as everyone knows, they live together).

Edmund and Eustace both showed up to Peter’s house ready to go, so they end up talking about what they absolutely  _ have _ to do today. Everyone else slowly joins in, so by the time they get to Peter’s car, they’re deep in discussion. It seats seven, so they don’t even have to split up. Edmund, Susan, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill all suspect that Peter purchased this SUV in particular for these weekends, but he’s never admitted openly to it. It’s not like he’s married with kids, and he works in an office.

When they get to the grounds, they make a line right for the season pass entrance, and go right in. It’s like entering another world. More than that, it’s like coming home.

They’re barely through the gates when they run into their first friend. Caspian, in full costume and wholly in character, greets them eagerly. 

“Friends! Well met!” He kisses the ladies on the hand one by one.

They greet Caspian warmly, though Susan and Eustace have long claimed – despite their full regalia – exemption to speaking so archaically. They’re careful not to distract him for so long; he is, after all, a staff member, even if he’s one of the ones they go out for drinks with in town on the off season (and even some weeknights!).

Lucy, though, greets him more warmly than anyone. That’s hardly surprising, as she’s undoubtedly the most involved in this of any of them. All four of the Pevensie siblings, and Eustace and Jill too, have worked here at least one summer, though Lucy more often than the others.

Lucy, too, was the first of them to come here, all those years ago. It was even before Caspian had come for the first time. Lucy had gone home and raved to her siblings about how wonderful it was. She’d dragged Edmund along the next weekend. He’d only gone because he wanted to tell Susan and Peter that it was worthless, as he’d been certain that it was something stupid, but against his better judgement, he’d enjoyed it.

The following weekend, they all came together, and that was that.

The next summer, they brought Eustace along (whose parents weighed the pros of fresh air, independence, and exercise against the cons of monarchism, meat, and alcohol – though the last one was not for children). In the end, they allowed him to go, though he complained at first about all the inaccuracies (there were no centaurs in Elizabethan England, after all). Eustace only changed his tune when he saw the dragon puppets. He bought one with his pocket money, and spent the rest of the day annoying everyone with it.

Edmund had been against inviting him back, but he was outvoted.

The puppet sits on Eustace’s shoulder now, all these years later. He looks more in place in his tunic than he had in the modern shorts and t-shirt he wore on his first trip, and Edmund will freely admit that he was wrong. Eustace actually does fit in, and he and Jill round out the group quite nicely.

Jill can’t recall a time Eustace came to the faire without the dragon, though Edmund is always eager to share the story to anyone who hasn’t heard it – or who just wants to hear it again.

Her first trip wasn’t quite  _ with  _ Eustace, not as such. It was a school trip, at the very beginning of the school year, and thus, the last weekend of Faire. Because their school was very  _ modern, _ the children were allowed more free reign at the faire. Jill was having an awful time because of some bullies, and she wandered off on her own. 

Eustace, also on his own, went looking for Caspian. It was, as he thought at the time, rotten luck he’d stumbled upon Jill just before Caspian and his brother Rilian (who was, really, just about Eustace’s age himself) found him. And, by extension, Jill. And it was actually… fun, spending the day together. 

It was the first time Eustace even really paid any mind to Jill. To his surprise, he found her assertive, sharp, and  _ funny. _ Their friendship began here, despite having known each other for years.

And, much later, this is where their relationship developed into what it is now.

Caspian gives them a knowing look as they greet him. Eustace and Jill walk arm-in-arm; affectionate, and period-appropriate. Over the years, Jill has gotten as invested in this all as even Lucy, though she’s never been one to play a proper lady. Her costume is more fitting of an adventurer or pirate queen, but no one’s ever been able to quite convince her to wear a full-length dress. Eustace, by extension, is dressed similarly to Jill, more the part of a pirate than the landed gentry his cousins emulate.

They promise to talk to Caspian later and head for the opening ceremonies. It’s early yet, and although they do usually break apart at various points in the day, it’s a bit early for that. The ceremony is mostly the same every year, but there’s always some small changes to keep the regulars on their toes. Peter and Lucy don’t get into the competitive spirit for this, but Edmund, Susan, Eustace, and Jill make a game of who can notice the differences first. The losers have to buy the winner (or winners, as was the case two years ago) a drink at one of the taverns.

This year, Susan catches it first. Edmund grumbles something good-naturedly about cheating – though they all know, of course, Susan isn’t cheating. After the opening ceremonies, he’s the first to buy her a drink of her choice at the tavern nearest the main stage.

He buys them each a flagon of mead as she finds their little group a table. Lucy flits off to get a pretzel, and Eustace insists upon buying a drink for Jill, even though she, too, technically lost. From his spot, Edmund can see that this sparks a minor argument, though they’re not quite loud enough for him to hear. He doesn’t really need to. He knows what it’s about. He’s not surprised when Jill forks over money anyway.

Edmund exchanges a glance with Susan. “Typical,” he says.

“I don’t think they’d be Eustace and Jill if they didn’t bicker within the first half hour,” Susan says over her drink.

“Touché.”

“What about you?” Susan asks.

Peter is distracted by some travelling musicians, and Lucy, Eustace, and Jill haven’t returned yet. If Edmund didn’t know his elder sister quite so well, he’d assume it a coincidence.

“What about me?”

“You didn’t invite your boyfriend?”

Edmund knows it’s coming, and he deflects easily.  _ “Boyfriend _ is… it’s a loaded term.”

Susan rolls her eyes. “How long has it been going on now? I’m pretty sure he counts as your boyfriend.”

“I could easily turn the tables here, you know.”

“Then why don’t you?”

“He knows what I get up to in the summer. If he wanted to come along, he’d ask. I wouldn’t – Christ, Su, even Peter’s never brought anyone along to this. Jill – much as I may like her – is a fluke. Eustace would never have invited her along if she hadn’t met Caspian and Rilian, much less if they’d been dating  _ first. _ It’s a family thing.”

“Peter’s never had a serious relationship,” Susan says.

“Neither have I.”

Susan makes a very unladylike snort and rolls her eyes. She throws back a big gulp of mead as if to further her point.

“What?” Edmund asks, a bit suspicious now that they’re  _ still _ alone.

“Lucy says you all but live with him.”

“That’s a gross exaggeration.” He’s never telling Lucy anything again.

He knows that his siblings don’t mind that he’s got a boyfriend – it’s hardly as if  _ they’re _ all straight – but the situation isn’t nearly so set in stone as they seem to think. And they meddle.

No matter how well-meaning they are, they meddle.

Which is what he tells Susan, who laughs.

“Would you ever stop to consider that we might not  _ need _ to meddle if you were upfront with us?”

He rolls his eyes. “Not unless all of you have changed drastically in the past ten minutes.”

“No such luck there, I’m afraid,” Susan says. 

Jill and Eustace return then, still bickering. “Settle a debate for us,” Eustace says.

“We don’t need them to settle anything. Just admit you’re wrong.”

“We should really wait for Peter and Lucy to come back,” Edmund says, glancing over to where Peter now has Lucy distracted by wandering musicians. “We don’t have a quorum.” He wills them to notice that their attentions are needed over here.

“Mead isn’t vegan,” Jill says.

Edmund can’t help himself. “So you’re bringing the discussion to a group of omnivores?” 

“I’ve never been vegan, anyway,” Eustace says. “Alberta and Harold have always had local, ethically-sourced eggs and milk in the house.”

That didn’t do anything to deter Jill. “The question wasn’t whether  _ you _ could drink mead, but whether a vegan could.”

Lucy sat down then, thank  _ god, _ and – even better – said, “I think Peter’s contemplating working here again next summer.”

Many of the cast members have full time jobs, so it’s not  _ impossible  _ to manage, but they’d all agreed years back that it was in their best interests to only come back as visitors.

Fortunately, this takes the question of whether or not mead is vegan – when none of them are vegan to begin with – completely off the table. At least for now.

Eustace and Jill exchange a look over their drinks. No one really thinks they’ve heard the last of this discussion.

* * *

It’s too early for lunch yet, but Susan and Lucy quickly make their way to the archery field for the first competition of the day with promises to meet up at the market square for lunch. Jill decides that she needs to show Eustace how it’s done at the gaming village, which leaves Edmund alone with Peter. They decide to catch the first jousting match of the season.

Peter, thankfully, doesn’t bring up Edmund’s dating life, though Edmund suspects that’s rather more because he doesn’t want to open the discussion into his own. Instead, Peter asks Edmund about school. That’s just fine with Edmund.

He’s only too relieved to talk about the classes he’s going to teach in the fall, and about his latest paper. He has a conference later in the summer, which means he’ll have to miss Faire that weekend, but Peter’s as encouraging as ever.

He knows he’s lucky to have the siblings he does. Plenty of people his age only see their siblings for holidays, or even less frequently than that. Even during the rest of the year, the Pevensies make sure to find time to meet up, even if it’s only a drink with Susan for happy hour, or dinner with Lucy, or a film with Peter. Eustace, too, makes sure to see his cousins regularly; typically, he considers a museum an ideal outing, though occasionally Jill will lead everyone on a hike and Eustace will go along with it.

That is, perhaps, part of what makes introducing any of them to a potential significant other so daunting. Edmund knows he’s not alone in that feeling. They all already knew and liked Jill, and it still took her and Eustace half a year before telling any of the Pevensies that their relationship had developed from friendship into something more. 

Edmund can count the number of his siblings’ significant others he’s met on one hand, which he supposes would probably be fine if they were all even five years younger, but Peter’s pushing thirty.

They know he’s  _ seeing _ someone, of course. Every one of them knows. But, well, Edmund’s not introduced them.

That just seems like too finite a step.

There’s no going back from meeting his family.

He tries to think about other things today. This is tradition, and this is about family.

Peter, thank god, can tell that Edmund needs a distraction (and that he doesn’t want to talk about what’s actually bothering him right now), because he starts talking about the summer they tried to learn jousting.

* * *

After Jill soundly kicks Eustace’s ass at the ring toss (winning a plush dragon which she gallantly gifts him), she says, “Don’t you think Lucy was acting strange earlier?”

Eustace frowns. “Lucy? No. Edmund was strange at the tavern, but…”

“But that’s probably just because Susan asked him about his boyfriend,” Jill says.

“Right.” Eustace nods in agreement. 

They’re a tight-knit bunch, and Jill remembers being terrified that the Pevensies, in particular, wouldn’t accept her relationship with Eustace. It sounds ridiculous in retrospect, of course, especially now that she knows they all more or less thought it a matter of time. But she understands, at least, why Edmund might be hesitant to introduce his boyfriend to his family.

Well, his siblings and cousin. She’d bet actual money that any of them would introduce their significant others to their parents first – and not just because Eustace did the same with her.

But Lucy.

Lucy’s been weird.

“Especially around Caspian.”

“Lucy and Caspian have been friends forever. Besides – whatever you’re implying, pretty much  _ everyone’s _ fallen for Caspian at some point or another.”

“I haven’t,” Jill says.

Eustace rolls his eyes. She doesn’t even care if he doesn’t believe her; Caspian is objectively one of the most handsome men Jill’s ever seen, but she’s never seen him in any sort of romantic light. There’s no good reason for it. She just hasn’t. 

“Anyway,” she says.

“Anyway?”

“I think it’s suspicious, is all.” She begins to rattle off her (admittedly shaky) evidence to an unconvinced Eustace. Really. You’d think her boyfriend would have more faith in her.

“I just can’t see it,” Eustace says. “He’s – I think he’s Susan’s age? Maybe Peter’s. He’s older than Edmund, anyway.”

She understands what he leaves unsaid: Caspian is at least four years older than Lucy. But they’re adults. Honestly, it’s not even like no one from their high school, modern and progressive as it was, has gotten married yet. Lucy dating a man just a bit older than her is hardly a scandal.

“He used to like Susan.”

“Everyone’s liked Susan,” Jill answers. “You just haven’t because she’s your cousin.”

Eustace pulls a face, and Jill reassures him with a quick kiss. “Though of course, I like you  _ much _ more than Susan.”

“You really think there’s something between Lucy and Caspian?”

“If there isn’t, then I think they both want there to be something.”

Eustace considers this. “I don’t think anyone’d really have a  _ problem _ with it. They’re both adults.”

“I think we’re in for an interesting summer,” she says.

“That’s putting it lightly.”

She grabs his hand and tugs. “Come on. I want to beat you at darts.”

* * *

Lucy and Susan have a very strict “no work talk” policy at Faire. Besides, they talk enough during the week that it’s a rather pointless topic of discussion. Lucy already knows about Susan’s latest promotion. Susan already knows how Lucy’s doing in medical school.

They talk about other things, instead.

Like Lucy’s new kitten, Beauregard. Or Susan’s latest painting project. 

Or, as they do today, Edmund’s boyfriend.

They don’t  _ gossip. _ Not when neither Edmund nor his boyfriend are there to defend themselves. But they do discuss how to gently signal to Edmund that they’d like to meet him.

“I thought you met him already?” Susan asks. “At dinner a few months ago?”

Lucy shakes her head. “No. That was his roommate’s boyfriend.” And she’d liked Cor, to be honest, even if she thought it was obvious that Aravis was usually over  _ his _ apartment, and that she and Cor had just been invited for dinner as a potential distraction. Or placation. Lucy wasn’t quite sure which. “I thought you met him for drinks?”

“False alarm. It was another of his colleagues.”

“Has Peter met him?”

Susan shakes her head. “No. He hasn’t.”

“I guess I can understand why he might be wary. I mean… even just for dinner or drinks… it’s only something I’d bring a serious partner to.”

Susan shoots Lucy a look. Fine, okay, Edmund  _ did _ tell her that it was serious, but there’s serious and there’s ‘telling your entire family’ serious. Especially when said family was as close as they were.

Lucy would know. 

Not that she thinks anyone is remotely suspicious. She hates lying, truthfully, but, well, it  _ is _ nerve-wracking, and it’s a new development. Besides, it's not lying so much as it is not being forthright. Best to wait to see whether things work out for more than a month.

She’ll tell everyone at the end of summer if things go well.

* * *

They all convene for lunch. It’s Eustace’s turn to buy Susan a drink, and this time, Jill lets him buy her one, too (it’s the least she can do after handing his ass to him in almost every game they played). She goes with Edmund and Lucy to get food as Peter saves the table.

They all meet back at the table ten minutes later. Everyone’s in good spirits. They don’t go  _ all out _ like this every weekend (it wouldn’t be financially sustainable, really, considering how expensive everything at Faire is), but the first and last weekends are typically bookends of good-natured lack of restraint (peppered with “treat yourself” jokes, of course).

They talk about their various early-afternoon activities, and their plans for later on (Jill wants to see the falconry show, in particular). Edmund has just taken a big bite of his turkey leg when he hears his name.

And it’s not from anyone at the table.

He looks up, and oh.

He quickly swallows his food, and he doesn’t miss the looks that – well,  _ everyone _ seems to exchange. 

“Hi,” he says to – well, his boyfriend. (Susan is right about that, after all). “I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“My sister tricked me. Insisted it’d be a good sibling bonding experience, and ran off with her boyfriend the second we got through the gates.”

“Oh,” Lucy says. And then: “Oh!”

He’s really never telling Lucy anything ever again.


End file.
